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Mark Bridger charged with the murder of April Jones

Mark Bridger has been charged with the murder of April Jones Photo: Dyfed Powys Police

Police have charged 46-year-old Mark Bridger with the murder of missing five-year-old April Jones.

Mr Bridger has also been charged with child abduction and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

April disappeared from the Bryn-y-Gog estate in Machynlleth on Monday evening.

Now that Mark Bridger has been charged with this horrific crime it is time to let the judicial process take its course and time to let the family come to terms with what has happened over the last week. In the meantime our efforts to find April will be as meticulous as they have been from the outset of this enquiry until we have exhausted all available options.

Having carried out a detailed review of the evidence gathered so far by Dyfed Powys Police, my conclusion is that there is sufficient evidence to charge Mark Bridger with the murder of April Jones, and that it is in the public interest to do so.

I realise that this is an incredibly difficult time for April’s family, friends and the community. My thoughts are with them – and indeed with all those affected by this week’s events.

– IWAN JENKINS, DISTRICT CROWN PROSECUTOR, CPS

Search teams resumed efforts on Saturday morning to locate April after searches were called off on Friday night for the first time since her disappearance on Monday.

Emergency services including the Coastguard, RNLI, RAF mountain rescue and 150 members of mountain rescue teams from across the UK have been searching since April vanished.

Our correspondent Carl Edwards reported live from Aberystwyth shortly after the charge was announced.